Tom Frame (1931 – 14 July 2006) was a British comics

letterer A letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic. The letterer crafts the comi ...

. He created dialogue for the majority of the

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of '' 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running ...

strips, as well as other stories including over 300 stories in '' 2000 AD'', ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms ...

'' and

Sonic the Comic ''Sonic the Comic'' was a British children's comic published by Fleetway Editions between 1993 and 2002. It was the UK's Sega comic, featuring stories about its mascot Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters, as well as comic strips based ...

. Frame used a combination of computer-based techniques, including a personal font based on his own hand-drawn lettering, and old-fashioned craft like cutting speech balloons by hand. He was acknowledged by several other letterers (for instance,

Richard Starkings Richard Starkings (born 27 January 1962) is a British font designer and comic book letterer, editor and writer. He was one of the early pioneers of computer-based comic-book lettering, and is one of the most prolific creators in that industry. ...

) for his help in getting them started in the profession. According to artist Mike Collins (''Judge Dredd'', ''

Rogue Trooper ''Rogue Trooper'' is a science fiction strip in the British comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'', created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons in 1981. It portrays the adventures of a "Supersoldier, Genetic Infantryman" named Rogue ...

''), "Good lettering has character, adds character to the story. In the UK, a Judge Dredd story just ISN'T a Dredd story without Tom Frame's lettering. Tom's no-nonsense, finely spaced, tall text is as much a part of Mega City One's environment as Dredd's helmet or badge." Frame died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on 14 July 2006. Prog 1508 had a centerpiece tribute to him with contributions from 37 artists and two colourists, including a drawing by Frame's grandson. John Wagner dedicated Judge Dredd: Dark Justice (2015) to Frame saying that his "lettering always did Dredd justice."

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External links

* 1931 births 2006 deaths British comics artists Comic book letterers Deaths from cancer in England {{UK-comics-creator-stub